Stenhousemuir FC Receives Prestigious Quality Mark Award

Jamie Swinney (Community programme manager) and Martin McNairney (Club Chairman) from Stenhousemuir FC were presented with the Scottish FA Quality Mark Standard Award at the first Stenhousemuir FC game of the season against Peterhead at Ochilview Park by Alan Morgan (Regional Football Development Manager) and Elliot Jardine from McDonalds.

The Award, part of the Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme run by the Scottish FA in partnership with McDonald’s and The Big Lottery Fund, recognises pro-active clubs and schools working to increase youth and community participation.

Clubs and schools receive the award after meeting standards in areas such as coach and player development, management, administration, welfare and planning.

Jamie Swinney from Stenhousemuir FC said: “ I am delighted to receive the award from the SFA as recognition for all the great work we do in the community. Despite being a small senior club we have a very large and successful community programme and are very pleased to receive this accreditation …”

Regional manager/ club development manager said: “…I am delighted to present Stenhousemuir F.C with the Standard Award today. This is a reward for the good work they do in the community and the opportunities they provide for young people to play football. I look forward to continuing to work with them moving towards the Development Award" Alan Morgan – Scottish FA Football Development Manager.

There are three Quality Mark categories – Standard, Development, and Community. So far more than 100 clubs and schools have achieved accreditation over the three categories, and over 4,000 coaches have benefited from coach education and first aid training.

McDonald’s, official partner of the Scottish FA Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme, will invest £100,000 in the scheme over three years as part of its ongoing commitment to grassroots football in Scotland. The scheme is part of McDonald’s long-standing partnership with the Scottish FA, which has also helped to create over 1,400 community coaches across Scotland since 2002.

Through the scheme, McDonald’s and the Scottish FA aim to provide support to grassroots clubs and schools across Scotland as they strive to broaden youth and community participation and to enhance player, coach and volunteer development.

The Quality Mark scheme is supported by the Big Lottery Fund, which contributes to the employment of all Scottish FA club development staff, as well as discounted coach education and first aid courses for grassroots volunteers. The Big Lottery Fund is a key Scottish FA partner, contributing £6m to the delivery of the Scottish FA Youth Action Plan.

For further information on the Scottish FA Quality Mark programme, please visit www.scottishfa.co.uk/footballdevelopment